Category Archives: Garden Tools & Tips

Garden Tools & Tips, Indoor Living Spaces, Innovative Solutions, Shade Solutions

TV and Film Technology of the Past Brought to Life!

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It’s amazing how technology grows. Gadgets and gizmos that were once used in movies and television shows to thrust views into a high-tech and unimaginable future are now, only a few decades later, a reality. Many products around your home would have seemed like science fiction to your parents and grandparents generations. Below is a fun list of products that have gone from futuristic to must-haves!

  • Back to The Future – Many products in the BTTF franchise have been produced and some are even common in today’s society. TV video phones and conferences were featured, as were holographic tvs. Companies around the world regularly use video conferencing and Skype is quickly catching on with people around the world. IMAX and 3D movies are common and available in most areas. Even Marty’s self-lacing sneakers are now being produced (Nike Hyperdunks)!
  • The Jetsons – The Jetsons are one of the best examples of tv foreshadowing modern technology. The Jetson’s home of the future is quickly becoming the home of today. Fake tanning was introduced on the show almost a decade before the first tanning bed was invented. A wealthy business man tans in his luxurious bed with artificial sun options that include “Miami, Honolulu, and Riviera”.  Robotic vacuum cleaners were frequently featured on the show and are now widely available as hands-free options to traditional house work. Other once futuristic fantasies around the home, such as motorized window shades that rise and lower at the touch of a button and robotic lawn mowers that take the work out of lawn maintenance, are Jetson-esque.
  • Jet Packs – Featured in The Jetson’s, The Rocketeer, and several other movies and tv programs, a jet pack that allows a person to fly through the air is slowly becoming a reality. Several companies and individuals around the world are working to produce an efficient jet pack. While the technology is still in its infancy, it is happening and jet packs are working around the world.

What products or technologies have you seen in recent film and television that you look forward to seeing in the future?

Garden Tools & Tips

Selling Your Home? Draw Them In with Curb Appeal

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Spice Up the Curb Appeal

Attempting to sell a home in today’s challenging market can be as much fun as running over your toe with the car.  Half of the battle, it seems, is just getting potential buyers through the front door.  The inside of your home, you insist, is in move-in condition and has the most updated of everything.  Attracting more house shoppers, though, may depend more on how the home looks on the outside.  At least initially.

Spice up a home’s curb appeal, and you could very well turn home buyers who are just passing by into home buyers who actually stop to take a closer look.  Curb appeal doesn’t need to cost a lot of money, either.  To make your home’s exterior more inviting, pay attention to the following details:

  • Neat and Tidy — Take the time every day or so to tidy up your outdoor space.  Put away trash cans in a neat corner, pick up any stray garbage blown in by the breeze, remind the kids to store their toys away when they’re done playing, sweep off your front door step.  People are more likely to notice what’s wrong before they admire what’s right, so put away or clean up anything that takes away from the appearance of the home.
  • Colorful Gardens — Purchase some colorful and inexpensive annuals at your local garden center, and Garden Planter plant them in your front garden to add a punch of vibrancy.  While you’re at it, remove weeds that may be growing wild, and rake any old leaves and garden debris from the beds.  Top it all off with some fresh mulch, and you’ll have an attractive focal point rather than a weedy and unkempt garden mess.  Don’t have front garden beds?  Plant your flowers in an attractive garden planter or container, and place it on the front porch to produce the same inviting effect.
  • Front Door Impressions — Freshen your front door by adding a new coat of paint.  Whether you choose the same color or attempt a different one, a coat of paint can do wonders to spruce up a front door.  Once the paint is dry, hang a decorative, seasonal wreath to welcome your visitors.

No matter how good your home looks on the inside, you won’t get much interest from home buyers if the home’s outside doesn’t show the same amount of care and attention to detail.  Making a little effort to improve a home’s curb appeal may be all that’s needed to draw potential buyers into the front door.

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Garden Tools & Tips, Holidays & Gift Ideas, Innovative Solutions, Insect Control

April is National Lawn and Garden Month

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Lawn and Garden
April is National Lawn and Garden month! This gives you a wonderful reason to get outside and get your backyard and garden ready. Whether you are starting from scratch or are an experienced pro, here are several tips that you can use to celebrate Lawn and Garden month in style!

  • Consider Backyard Composting – Composting is nature’s process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. Backyard composting is an acceleration of the process that occurs in nature. It is recycling at its finest! Use kitchen waste (such as food or paper towels), lawn clippings, and wood chips to provide rich and powerful soil for your garden and lawn. Anything that was once living will decompose, giving you endless options for composting. Composting is good for your plants and for you! Adding organic materials to the soil improves moisture retention. It provides a balanced, slow–release source of nutrients that helps the soil hold nutrients long enough for plants to use them. Healthier plants means a healthier you! It will also save you money because you will no longer have to buy fertilizer. Add a compost bin to your garden and start today!

  • Add a fountain – Outdoor fountains offer an easy and affordable way to add style to your lawn or garden. The soothing sound of running water will help to create a tranquil and relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Transform your garden into your own personal paradise!

  • Consider adding variety – If you are fond of flower gardening, venture into edible vegetables! You will be thrilled with the sense of accomplishment you feel when you feed your family fresh, healthy produce that you loving grew on your own. Beans, squash, cucumbers, lettuce/greens, tomatoes, peppers, beets, and garlic are all great vegetables to start with. They are relatively easy to maintain and will offer beautiful variety. If you are already growing your own vegetables, consider planting an eye catching flower garden (try marigold, lupine, daisy, or wildflower mix seeds). Fruits are also a great option. Apples, figs, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are great for beginners. Variety is the spice of life!

  • Go high-tech – Modern technology impacts our daily life. Why not let it impact your backyard? There are several innovations in outdoor living that you will wonder how you ever lived without. The Robomower will make mowing your lawn virtually effortless. No more back-breaking work and labor intensive afternoons spent cutting grass. You simply install special sensors around the perimeter of your yard and push a button. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Another product worth trying is the Mosquito Eliminator. Gone are the days of tacky bug zappers and pesky insects at parties. It is so beautiful that your guests will never guess that it is fighting mosquitoes and other pests. The Eliminator uses high-tech black light technology to cover up to 1,000 feet and capture up to 6,000 mosquitoes with one cartridge. Other garden technology to be on the look for: gardening apps for smartphones (such as iVeggieGarden, which allows you to view over 500 varieties of vegetables and offers tips and ideas), time lapsed garden cameras (which take pictures at various intervals and produce videos or slideshows showing growth progress), and electronic soil testers.

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Garden Tools & Tips

April Showers Bring Opportunity to Save Water and Money

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Rain Barrel

If it’s true that April showers bring May flowers, then now is the time to take advantage of capturing some of that rain so you can water your garden on drier days.  Rain barrels offer an effortless way to collect rain water, so you can avoid having to open your faucets (and your wallet) to give your posies a drink. 

Need another reason to love rain barrels?  You can water your garden when you feel like watering — not just during your assigned days and times of the week.  To conserve water, many communities set restrictions on when and how long you can water your lawn and garden.  This is a good idea that makes sense, but restrictions can make it a challenge to keep gardens in top shape throughout the growing season. When you collect rain in one or more rain barrels, you can water when your flowers and plants need it, and you are only limited by the amount of rain in your barrels.

Whether you are motivated by saving money or by saving the planet, rain barrels are a smart solution that fulfills both desires at once.

Garden Tools & Tips, Storage Solutions

4 Quick Tips for Keeping Garden Tools Happy

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Gardening Tools

Whether you’re new to gardening or have been toiling in the soil for years, you rely on garden tools that are in good working condition.  Poorly maintained garden tools don’t last long and most likely make gardening chores more of a chore.

The best way to make sure your tools work well for you over the long haul is to give them a little TLC after each use.  Time consuming?  No way.  In fact, here are four quick and easy ways to keep your tools in top shape during the gardening season:

  • Ditch the Dirt — Remove any dirt from tools after each use.  Fresh dirt will usually come off quickly and easily when tools are rinsed with a hose or dipped in a bucket of water. Tough dirt can be rubbed off with some water and a wet rag.  If left to dry, caked-on dirt is harder to remove and makes digging tasks more challenging the next time the tools are needed.
  • Repel Rust and Rot — Dry off wet tools before putting them away.  Wooden handles can rot and metal parts can rust when water is left sitting on garden tools.  Keep a clean rag or towel handy for this purpose.
  • Ship-Shape Shears — Rub the cutting blades of pruning shears and loppers with a dab of oil on an old rag before hanging them up for the night.  This will clean off any debris and keep them workingGarden Storage Sheds smoothly.
  • Stow Your Stuff — Give your garden tools some shelter to protect them from exposure to weather and to keep them out of reach of children and animals.  A storage shed dedicated to gardening tools and supplies is a handy addition in any yard.  Using storage sheds for gardening gear frees up space in the garage and ensures that your tools and supplies are protected.

A little daily maintenance goes a long way toward keeping garden tools in good working shape throughout the heaviest months of gardening.  Keep the necessary cleaning gear close to where you store your tools.  Doing so will make it that much easier to care for your tools before putting them away.